Glenwood High School celebrates past through Hall of Fame

CHATHAM — Don Udey’s marching, concert and pep bands brought home more than 40 awards for Glenwood High School.

Now, the school has one more for him.

Udey will be inducted into the Glenwood High School Hall of Fame during a ceremony at noon Sunday.

Dan Rourke, the school’s athletic director, said the Hall of Fame program connects today’s students with successful figures from the past. The school will recognize Udey in the service category; Peter Alexander, Class of ’64, in life recognition; Charles Bush (’64) in achievement; Jane Vatchev (’80) in athletics; and the 2000-01 girls soccer team.

“We’ve got a lot of new people here (in Chatham), and sometimes in those situations you forget where we came from,” Rourke said.

Udey, who served as band director for 26 years, says he understood that high school was often a difficult time for students, so he created a high-profile program they could take pride in. The community boomed back that support during halftime shows, he said, and a decade after his retirement, he still remembers that undeniable enthusiasm.

“I felt very fortunate that I got to do something that I like to do for a living, and I had super kids,” Udey said. “If you can get kids to like what they’re doing, you can take them everywhere.”

The 2000-01 girls soccer team still holds Glenwood’s records for most wins in a season and most shutouts. They went on that year to finish fourth in the state tournament. Alaree Malone, who was named Central State Eight Conference player of the year, said the team’s strong communication was essential to its success. She hopes the players set a precedent for those who came after.

“We were kind of able to set the pace for everyone else coming behind us,” she said. “There was an expectation of hard work and being coachable.”

Each former student honoree found success in high school and in their adult lives.

Alexander serves as dean of interim pastor training at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis and has written much of the curriculum. Vatchev went to state in track her sophomore year of high school and went on to earn NJCAA National Track and Field Coach of the Year twice. Bush, who served two terms as class president, joined the Springfield Air National Guard, retired after 38 years with Caterpillar and has traveled to Liberia for mission work.

With two inductees from the class of 1964, the Hall of Fame committee worked to incorporate Sunday’s celebration with the class’s 50-year reunion. Present Glenwood High students worked with Ryan Bandy, the high school’s studio coordinator, to interview and film students about what life was like as a student 50 years ago.

“What you also notice is that 16-, 17-, 18-year-old students at Glenwood High School were really not that different in 1964 than students are now,” Rourke said. “These 16-, 17-, 18-year-old kids still think alike.”

Rourke said the committee honors retired educators, such as Udey, after they’ve been retired for more than five years. Students and teams may receive recognition 10 years after graduation.

This rule causes Rouke and the Hall of Fame committee to dig through Chatham’s past. Many nominated for the Hall of Fame have been gone so long, the current faculty hasn’t taught them. The committee makes phone calls and tracks down individuals who knew the students during their high school days.

“Our mission with the Hall of Fame is to keep some kind of identity as to who we were and who we are now, and bridge the gap between our past,” Rourke said.